by W. J. May
“Oh!” Rae stepped back. Thank goodness it wasn’t from his shoulder. I’d better not catch it if I’m supposed to be doing some mission tomorrow. Just the sound of him heaving is making me nauseous. She’d never been a sympathetic gagger and there was a good chance she never would be, but she didn’t think it was a good time to test the theory. She opened the car door to the back. “I think I’m just going to wait in here.”
“Me too.” Molly squeezed in close behind. “Why don’t you come back here with us, Charlie? Put Riley in the front seat, close to the window. Whenever he’s ready.”
Thankfully they drove back to Guilder without having to pull over for Riley. The guys helped him out of the car and toward Joist Hall, while the girls split off and headed to Aumbry House. Rae checked her watch. Half past ten. Not too late, but she had to meet Julian tomorrow at five and didn’t want to be worn out. Rae suddenly realized that she didn’t even know where exactly they were supposed to meet up. She assumed just outside of Aumbry, but now that she thought about it, she’d rather have confirmation. She could walk over to his dorm on the top floor of Joist, except that then she risked seeing Devon, who lived across the hall. She pulled her phone out as she and Molly trudged up the black and white marble stairs. She sent Julian a text arranging to meet him in the lobby of Aumbry at four forty-five.
“Texting Luuuu-ke?” Molly said his name in a sing-song fashion.
“Julian, actually.” Rae finished her message and sent it. “I’m going to be gone for a couple of days; can you email me any work I miss or whatever I need to read?”
“Sure.” Molly stared at her before finally speaking again when they reached the top of the stairs. “PC stuff?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Just be careful.” Molly hugged her and headed down the hall to her room. “’Night, Rae.”
That’s it? Rae expected the Spanish Inquisition from Molly, not a simple understanding with no questions. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Rae. Just enjoy it. “’Night, Molls.” She unlocked her room and pushed the door open. It resisted slightly, so she pushed harder. The sound of crinkling and ripping paper made her pause. She slipped through the narrow opening and checked behind the door.
A manila envelope lay wedged slightly under the doorframe. She closed the door, locked it for safety, and picked up the package. The torn corner revealed papers and a note stuffed in, written on the back of a receipt.
She tore the envelope open and spread the information on her bed. The hand written note was from Jenn.
Rae, stopped by to drop this off and go over it with you. Apparently, a night out before your first big job is what you believe to be a good idea. Enclosed are the blueprints and information of what you need to retrieve. Know it like the back of your hand before tomorrow morning. Good-luck, Jenn.
“Crap!” Rae muttered. She grabbed her phone and started to write a text out to Jennifer. Halfway through she hit the delete button and erased the message. She really didn’t want to go through this yet again. She might be a straight A student and a quick study, but so far with Jenn, she hadn’t shown her best and it really got under her skin. Instead of apologizing for probably the billionth time, she decided to memorize everything, and show how competent she really was.
Unrolling the blueprint on the floor, she set books on the corners to keep it from curling, and found a comfortable spot to sit in so she could study it. She had a momentary wild thought about Molly bursting through the door to interrogate her about her mission, “Shoot!” She snapped her fingers and ran to the door to double check she had locked it, and closed her curtains, peering outside into the darkness at nothing. Even with her room on the top floor, there were tatùs that could fly, or shift, or who knew what else. She also changed out of her short miniskirt into a pair of jogging pants.
Feeling somewhat protected, safe, comfortable, and ready, she grabbed a blank notebook and pen to take notes, and began reading the map. The top corner had a legend titled LAMB. It took Rae a moment to realize the London Art Museum Building was the target. Her heart sped up and felt like it suddenly decided to move to her throat. This was not a small job. This was huge. What on earth are they doing sending me in on something like this? Yet more reason not to trust anyone. What she needed to do was be more than ready for whatever might happen.
She studied the building trying to memorize all the entrances, exits, elevators, shafts and anything that led to the outside of the building. The blueprint was just a map, but whatever the plan was, in the event that it went south, she wanted a picture of this map burned into her brain so she could hopefully improvise. The only problem was that she had no idea how in the world she was going to get in and out without setting off the alarms. Ah! Those other papers must be the plan.
Crawling over to the bed, she reached for the folder and began reading the papers. According to the plans Julian would rig the alarm, and then, using his ability, help her get to the Tudor manuscript. She needed to retrieve page thirty-seven. In, out and on their way home within twenty minutes.
Easy peasy. Ha!
Hours later, Rae had memorized everything in the file, had a complete mental image of the blueprint, and felt she had a pretty good grasp of every detail. The manual had basically covered every possible scenario, and how she should react to each situation.
She rubbed her eyes and then checked her watch as a long yawn escaped. Three o’clock? Where had the time gone? Crap! I have to meet Julian outside Aumbry in two hours. She grabbed her backpack and stuffed clothes, make up and iPod with its charger inside. She crawled on top of the sheets on her bed and set the alarm to go off in an hour and a half.
A moment later, or so it felt like, the annoying beep of her alarm woke her. Tempted to hit the snooze button, she groaned and kicked the covers off. Forcing herself out of bed, she slipped down the hall to shower, still managing to get herself dressed and down the stairs about five minutes before Julian would be there.
She had grabbed the folder with the information and hoped to go over it with Julian to make sure everything was in place. The quietness of Aumbry House and her earliness had Rae wondering if she should sneak into the library to get the journal.
She pushed aside the thought when she noticed Julian waiting outside near the bottom of the stairs. She went out to meet him.
“Rae!” he whispered with a big smile on his face as he opened his arms to hug her.
She savored the warmth he offered and squeezed him back. “I missed you.”
He coughed. “B-Bit too tight.”
She dropped her arms. “Oops, sorry.” She mentally switched her tatù to the healing one, not realizing her body had tuned into Jennifer’s leopard tatù as she had descended down the stairs. Maybe the healing will make up for my lack of sleep. She yawned despite the thought.
“How are you doing?” The concern in his eyes showed her that he was referring to Devon.
She shrugged, let the toe of her black sneaker bounce against the pavement as she tried to figure out the right response. Would he tell Devon? Or is Devon the one who’s asking? “I’m okay. A bit surprised, a bit bummed, but I think I’ll be okay.”
He slipped his arm over her shoulders in big brother fashion. “Want me to beat him up for you?”
“Yes,” she joked, suddenly very glad Julian was the operative the Privy Council had chosen as her first partner. Maybe Carter had something to do with that. She might owe him her thanks after this.
He nodded toward the parking lot and they began walking in that direction. “How’s my baby doing?” He grinned, as if eager to change the subject. “You do realize the only reason I let you borrow my car is because I know you can afford to fix it now.”
Rae stuttered to a stop and faked a worried look on her face. “Who told you? It’s only a tiny ding… and the scratch I covered with matching nail polish. You can hardly see it now, just in the bright sun.”
“What?” Julian stumbled but quickly recovered as he increased his pace a
nd began dragging her along. “What happened?”
Laughing, Rae struggled to keep up. “Nothing! I promise.”
He looked at her with raised eyebrows but continued to pull her along at nearly break-neck speed. “What?”
“Nothing happened. Your car is fine! I was just pulling your leg.”
They had reached the parking lot. Julian walked around his baby, inspecting every nook and cranny. He finally snorted and unlocked to doors. “Your jokes stink, Kerrigan.”
Rae didn’t miss the smile he tried to hide as he slipped inside the car. She got in the passenger seat. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“Me too.” He started the engine and patted the dashboard when it gunned to life. “Now that we’re out of possible prying ears; how is everything? The PCs, training, your mentor, school, even Molly. How is Molly?”
Rae settled into her seat. “Molls is good. She’s determined to set me up with Luke…” Her head shot up as she realized what she had just said. Julian cut in before she had a chance to recover.
“Who’s Luke?”
“Just a guy.” Rae swallowed. Screw it. Why should she have to hide it? “I bumped into him the day… the day Devon broke up with me. He liked my – your – car. Now Molly’s determined to play Barbie and match me up with a Ken doll.”
Julian harrumphed. “Sounds like Molly, trying to stir up electricity.”
Rae wanted to ask what he thought, or what Devon would think about Luke. She really wanted to ask if Devon had told him anything about them breaking up. To know if he was as miserable as she felt inside. Or if he had found someone else. She stayed quiet and stared at the folder in her hands. She wouldn’t ask Julian anything. He was friends with them both, and she didn’t want to put him in the middle. “What do you think of this little mission we’re going on?”
“Could be super easy, or extremely complicated.”
“It seems strange to just be sent. It’s like your answer, completely elusive. I don’t get it. Is all Privy Council stuff like this?”
Julian glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Sometimes.” He chuckled when she snorted. “If they think you are ready for a mission, or don’t need the training, they won’t go over it. You’ll get a folder, like the one you’re holding, and assume you will request any info if needed.”
“Jennifer was upset the PCs were sending me out already. She doesn’t think I’m ready.”
“Jenn’s bad-ass. Nobody’s good enough unless it’s her.”
Rae turned in her seat so she could watch him as he drove. “You’ve worked with her?”
“Not yet. Devon has. She’s very good. Probably one of the best. Trained by the best.”
She nodded. Of course, why wouldn’t Devon have worked with one of the best already? She needed to stay clear of that subject. “What’s our plan?” Avoiding, Rae? A little voice inside bugged her and she imagined her mother sitting behind her whispering to her to face the hardest issues dead on. Skirting only swept things under the rug until they piled up high enough that you would trip over the rug and fall flat on your face.
“Rae? Are you falling asleep?”
“Sorry, pardon?”
“You asked me about a plan. We’ll walk around the museum today and make sure the blueprints are current. We don’t want any unforeseen surprises.”
“Then do we both go in to get the paper?”
Julian shook his head. “No. I need to disable from outside the building and the sensors will pick us both up inside.” He paused and then cleared his throat. “I have a question for you: Are you able to use two tatùs at once?”
Rae glanced at him and for a split second wondered if it was Julian asking her or the Privy Council. She decided on the first because Julian wouldn’t ever trade her in for opportunity. She chewed her lip and tried using Jennifer’s tatù and at the same time she tried to get electrical sparks from her fingertips. “Nope. Just one at a time.”
“I didn’t think so, but I wanted to ask.”
“I can switch without having to think about it.” She didn’t know why she felt the need to defend herself, especially in front of Julian. He trusted her completely and knew her ability.
“That’s just as good. I just wondered if your tatù evolved, kinda like mine did. At sixteen I was drawing the future and now I’m seeing the future. Things change.” He glanced at her, but quickly looked away.
Rae watched him but Julian refused to look at her, concentrating on the road instead. She wanted to ask what the look was about. She stared at him hard, waiting for him to cave, even though he gave no signs of weakness. She gave up and decided she would ask him another time, when they didn’t have a job to do. “Well, since Kraigan messed everything up, I’ve been more focused on trying to get tatùs. I haven’t noticed any other changes, but if you’re worried about today, don’t be. I’m ready. I’ve been ready for a long time. You needn’t worry about me.”
Julian turned the car into the train station parking lot. Rae lost focus as she thought about the last time she had been there. When Julian parked the car, she grabbed her bag and jumped out, heading straight for the station, pulling out her ticket from the file still in her hand. Julian followed close behind, and the two checked onto their train, which was already there. They found seats near the middle and settled into them.
Rae leaned against the headrest. As the train pulled out of the station she felt herself relax and begin to drift. She was glad Julian didn’t try to force conversation. Besides, she had the feeling talking about the mission would be taboo on a public train. She popped her head up once to see Julian in the same position. Feeling safe and comfortable, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Chapter 13
Mission Impossible
“Rae. Rae.” Someone gently shook her shoulder. “We’re here.”
She popped her eyes open. Everything was sideways. Wait. No. She was sideways, lying across two seats on the train. She sat up, wide eyed and slightly dazed, like when you wake up for school and think you are running late. “Sorry. I fell asleep.”
Julian chuckled. “So did I, but obviously not as good as you.” He pointed to the side of her chin. “I think you’ve got some drool going on there.”
“No!” She frantically wiped the side of her mouth and checked her hand. There was nothing there. “Bugger,” she muttered and swiped at his hand planning on sending him a small Molly-bolt, in retaliation.
He easily foresaw her intentions and casually moved his body so she missed him. “Shall we go? London waits for no one.”
She grabbed her backpack and noticed her file stuffed neatly inside.
“Yes, I did that,” Julian answered before she even had a chance to ask the question. “Can’t leave it so easily out in the open, especially when the owner is dead-asleep drooling.”
“I wasn’t drooling!” She rubbed her eyes, and casually tried to wipe her face one more time – just to be on the safe side.
Julian chuckled.
Does the guy miss anything? Feeling a little grouchy, Rae swung her backpack over her shoulder and followed him off the train toward the subway. “What are we doing first?”
Julian checked a poster on the wall. “Heading to the museum.”
The thrill of the situation was starting to get into her. It made her feel pumped and jittery. She bounced up and down on her toes as she read the subway schedule. “Awesome! I’m super excited to do this but kind of nervous at the same time.”
Julian continued to stare at the poster. “Funny, I couldn’t really tell.”
Rae let her shoulder bang into his. Not hard, but just enough to let him know she could handle him. “Let’s go. The subway’s going to be here shortly.”
Julian stood with raised eyebrows as she paused after a few steps and turned around to see why he wasn’t following. “How do you know?”
“We need the District Line and the train’s about to come in.”
“Did you study the lines of the Tube last nigh
t?”
She shook her head and waved her hand to hurry him. She could feel the rumble of an approaching train under her feet. “No. I just looked at the map now.” She had the feeling of déjà vu, but couldn’t remember the last time she’d been here. She began walking as Julian caught up to her. “We’re at Upminster Bridge so we’re going to need to take the District Line to Bakerloo. We can get to Piccadilly Circus. Or we can take the Jubilee Line, to just past Piccadilly, to Green Park.” She waited as Julian pulled passes out of his backpack. “Is the museum closer to Green Park or Piccadilly?”
The subway train rushed by, whipping Rae’s hair across her face. She tucked it behind her ear, ignoring the weird stare Julian gave her. She brushed it off, unsure why he suddenly felt the need to gape at her.
Julian blinked several times and gave his head a small shake. “I’ll have to check the map. I’m not sure which one’s closer.” He held his arm out to two empty seats beside each other. “Were you joking when you said you didn’t study the underground map?”
“No. I didn’t study the tunnels. I just looked at the map on the wall and checked the quickest route. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“But you did it so fast. I bet you know how long it’ll take to get there.” He leaned in and whispered, “Did you use a tatù?”
She bent her head toward him, pretending to be super secretive. “No. Just using yours at the moment ‘cause I’m trying to figure out why you are acting all jacked up. Are you on drugs?”
Julian straightened. “Never!”
She laughed. “I know, Juls. I’m just teasing.”
The train lurched to a stop and passengers got off and on it. Several stops later Julian and Rae stood and moved to the door. They switched trains and when they crossed by Piccadilly Julian ushered her off the train. Minutes later they were heading up the stairs back into the daylight of cloudy skies.
“Typical English weather,” Julian muttered. He shifted his backpack and Rae noticed it had a lot more weight to it than hers did.